Mathematics Discipline Groups
Request from the Maryland Intersegmental CAO Group
for the Statewide Mathematics Group
The Maryland Intersegmental Chief Academic Officers request that the Statewide Mathematics Group
evaluate general education courses mathematics. The purpose of this evaluation is to establish
definitional criteria, course competencies, and student outcomes for the general education
mathematics courses to coincide with the requirements of the Maryland Higher Education
Commission and the Special Attributes of General Education Mathematics Courses.
The following outline has been provided to guide the Statewide Mathematics Group in completing this
important task. In light of the Code of Maryland Regulations requirement that all general education
courses must be accepted in transfer by a receiving institution, the work of this Group will enable that
general education courses accepted in transfer will meet similar basic standards, outcomes, and
goals, without dictating any standard curriculum for any course.
CAO OUTLINE FOR STATEWIDE MATHEMATICS GROUP
A. Review 1) the Special Attributes of General Education Mathematics Courses; 2) COMAR
13B.06.01.03 General Education Requirements for Public Institutions; and 3) the entire
COMAR 13B.06 General Education and Transfer for General Education.
B. Establish the relationship of mathematics general education courses to the Special Attributes
of General Education Mathematics Courses endorsed by the Maryland Intersegmental CAO
Group.
C. Establish a core definition for the mathematic general education and recommend core course
components for the mathematic general education courses that relate to the Special Attributes
of General Education Mathematics Courses.
D. Identify the expected student outcomes for the genera education mathematics courses and
develop potential methods of measuring student general education competencies or
outcomes.
E. Share individual institutions' mathematics general education courses and discuss how these
traditional general education courses meet the competencies outline and how these courses
met the Special Attributes of General Education Mathematics Courses.
F. Address alternate means of meeting the general education mathematics courses through
these alternate means (including CLEP, AP, institution developed tests, other)
G. Review the content standards for Teacher Education and address the content needs of
teacher education and their representation in the general education mathematics courses.
(Must supply the Mathematics Content Standards for Teacher Education)
H. Status Report to the Maryland Intersegmental CAO Group by May 2002.
I. Final Report to the Maryland Intersegmental CAO Group by December 2002.
Special Attributes of General Education Mathematics Courses
Adopted unanimously at the
February 23, 1996 Statewide Mathematics Meeting
The following statement was approved at the meeting:
"Based on the Principles of the Chief Academic Officers, the mathematicians statewide submit
the following guidelines for content and standards of general education mathematics courses:
All general education mathematics courses must
1.
Have performance expectations demonstrating a level of mathematical maturity beyond
high school Algebra II (intermediate algebra).
2.
Include development of problem-solving skills, analysis and synthesis, which introduce
students to "ways of thinking" in mathematics.
3.
Introduce mathematical concepts and techniques that can be applied in further study of
mathematics and/or other disciplines.
4.
Explore mathematical applications to other disciplines.
It is hoped that approval these attributes and their acceptance by the public institutions in the
state of Maryland will help to avoid challenges to transferability of mathematics courses. In the event
of challenges, this is the list of attributes that a committee of mathematics faculty will need to refer to
in determining the status of the challenged course."
[At the meeting, 21 public Maryland institutions were represented, including 16 community and
junior colleges and 5 universities.]
CODE OF MARYLAND REGULATIONS (COMAR)
TITLE 13B. MARYLAND HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION
SUBTITLE 06. GENERAL EDUCATION AND TRANSFER
COMAR 13B.06.01.03
.03 General Education Requirements for Public Institutions.
A. While public institutions have the autonomy to design their general education program to meet their unique
needs and mission, that program shall conform to the definitions and common standards in this chapter. A public
institution shall satisfy the general education requirement by:
(1) Requiring each program leading to the A.A. or A.S. degree to include not less than 30 and not more
than 36 semester hours, and each baccalaureate degree program to include not less than 40 and not more than 46 semester
hours of required core courses, with the core requiring, at a minimum, course work in each of the following five areas:
(a) Arts and humanities,
(b) Social and behavioral sciences,
(b) Biological and physical sciences,
(d) Mathematics, and
(e) English composition; or
(2) Conforming with COMAR 13B.02.02.16D(2)(b)-----(c).
B. Each core course used to satisfy the distribution requirements of §A(1) of this regulation shall carry at least 3
semester hours.
C. General education programs of public institutions shall require at least:
(1) One course in each of two disciplines in arts and humanities;
(2) One course in each of two disciplines in social and behavioral sciences;
(3) Two science courses, at least one of which shall be a laboratory course;
(4) One course in mathematics at or above the level of college algebra; and
(5) One course in English composition.
D. Interdisciplinary and Emerging Issues.
(1) In addition to the five required areas in §A of this regulation, a public institution may include up to 8
semester hours in a sixth category that addresses emerging issues that institutions have identified as essential to a full
program of general education for their students. These courses may:
(a) Be integrated into other general education courses or may be presented as separate courses;
and
(b) Include courses that:
(i) Provide an interdisciplinary examination of issues across the five areas, or
(ii) Address other categories of knowledge, skills, and values that lie outside of the five
areas.
(2) Public institutions may not include the courses in this section in a general education program unless
they provide academic content and rigor equivalent to the areas in §A(1) of this regulation.
E. General education programs leading to the A.A.S. degree shall include at least 20 semester hours from the
same course list designated by the sending institution for the A.A. and A.S. degrees. The A.A.S. degree shall include at
least one 3-semester-hour course from each of the five areas listed in §A(1) of this regulation.
F. A course in a discipline listed in more than one of the areas of general education may be applied only to one
area of general education.
G. A public institution may allow a speech communication or foreign language course to be part of the arts and
humanities category.
H. Composition and literature courses may be placed in the arts and humanities area if literature is included as
part of the content of the course.
I. Public institutions may not include physical education skills courses as part of the general education
requirements.
J. General education courses shall reflect current scholarship in the discipline and provide reference to theoretical
frameworks and methods of inquiry appropriate to academic disciplines.
K. Courses that are theoretical may include applications, but all applications courses shall include theoretical
components if they are to be included as meeting general education requirements.
L. Public institutions may incorporate knowledge and skills involving the use of quantitative data, effective
writing, information retrieval, and information literacy when possible in the general education program.
M. Notwithstanding §A(1) of this regulation, a public 4-year institution may require 48 semester hours of required
core courses if courses upon which the institution's curriculum is based carry 4 semester hours.
N. Public institutions shall develop systems to ensure that courses approved for inclusion on the list of general
education courses are designed and assessed to comply with the requirements of this chapter.